THE BIOGRAPHY OF MAHOMET, AND RISE OF ISLAM.
CHAPTER TWENTIETH.

A brief glance at the state of the Roman and
Persian Empires may now be necessary, to connect
the salient points of their external history with the
career of Mahomet.

Struggles between the Roman empire and Persia, A.D. 609-627

From a period as far back as his assumption by
Mahomet of the Prophetic office, the two kingdoms
had been waging with each other a ceaseless and
deadly warfare. Until the year 621 A.D. unvarying
success attended the Persian arms. Syria, Egypt,
Asia Minor, were overrun. Constantinople itself was
threatened. At last, Heraclius awoke from his inglorious lethargy. About the time of Mahomet's flight

A.D. 622., A.H. I

from Mecca, the Roman Emperor was driving his
invaders from their fastnesses in Asia Minor. In

A.D. 623-625., A.H. II.-IV.

the second campaign he carried the war into the
heart of Persia; during the three years in which,
by this brilliant stroke, he was retrieving the fortunes of the Empire, Mahomet was engaged in his
doubtful struggle with the Coreish.

July, 626.

Then came
the critical siege of Constantinople by the Avars and
Persians, which preceded, by little more than half a

page 50

year, the siege of Medina known as the battle of
the Ditch.

March, 627.

It is curious to remark that, while the Moslems attributed the sudden departure of Abu
Sofian and his Arab hosts, to the special interposition of the Almighty, the Romans equally ascribed their signal deliverance from the hordes of the Chagan, to the favour of the Virgin.

A.D. 627. A.H. VI

In the third campaign, Heraclius followed up his previous success, and on the 1st December, 627,
achieved the decisive victory of Nineveh. In this
action the forces of Persia were irretrievably broken
and dispersed. On, the 20th of that month, the
Chosroes fled from his capital.

Feb., March 628, Dzul Cada, VI.

Before the close of February, 628, he was murdered by his son
Siroes, who ascended the throne, and concluded a
treaty of peace with the Emperor. About the
same epoch, Mahomet was at Hodeibia, ratifying
his truce with the chiefs of Mecca.

I. Despatch of Mahomet to Heralius, A.D. 628, A.H. VII

In the autumn of this year, Heraclius fulfilled
his vow of thanksgiving for the wonderful success
which had crowned his arms; he performed on foot
the pilgrimage from Edessa to Jerusalem, where the
"true cross;" recovered from the Persians, was with
solemnity and pomp restored to the Holy Sepulchre. 1
While preparing for this journey, or during the

1 The note by Weil, No.309, p.198, on the chronology of this
journey, appears to me clearly to fix it in August, 628, and not
(as usually placed) in the spring of 629. I refer the reader to
that note, as, having no fresh authorities available for
research, I could only recapitulate the arguments of Weil.

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journey itself, an uncouth despatch, in the Arabic
character, was laid before Heraclius. It was forwarded by the Governor of Bostra, into whose hands
it had been delivered by an Arab chief. The epistle
was addressed to the Emperor himself, from "Mahomet the Apostle of God," the rude impression
of whose seal could be deciphered at the foot. In
strange and simple accents, like those of the Prophets of old, it summoned Heraclius to acknowledge
the mission of Mahomet, to cast aside the idolatrous
worship of Jesus and his Mother, and to return to
the Catholic faith of the one only God.1 The letter

Arab writers, in order to give sufficient time for the miraculous
intimation by Mahomet of the death of Chosroes, place that event
on the 13th of the first Jumad, A.H. VII., or 21st August 628.
But the details of the Greek historians, and the despatch of Heraclius to the senate of Constantinople, inserted in the Chronicon Paschale, leave no doubt as to the dates in the text.

Supposing the embassies to have started from Medina during
the 1st Rabi (see the last note in the preceding chapter), i.e.
in June or July, the despatch would reach Heraclius on his journey,
as represented by tradition. If we take the earlier date of Moharram (April, May,) for their despatch, it is open for us to suppose some delay on the road.

1The terms of the despatches are quite uncertain. The draughts
of them given by tradition, with the replies, are apocryphal. (But
see below as to the Egyptian Despatch.) The ordinary copy of the
letter to Heraclius contains a passage from the Coran which, as
Weil shows, was not given forth till the ninth year of the Hegira
(note, No. 309.) The passage was apparently inserted by the
Traditionists as being a probable and an appropriate address from
their Prophet to a Christian king.

Dehya, the bearer of this despatch, was desired by Mahomet to
forward it through the governor of Bostra. K. Wackidi p.60.

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was probably cast aside, or preserved, it may be,
as a strange curiosity, the effusion of some harmless
fanatic.1

II. Despatch to the Ghassinide Prince

Not long after, another despatch, bearing the
same seal, and couched in similar terms, reached
the court of Heraclius. It was addressed to
Harith seventh, son of Abu Shammir, Prince of the
Bani Ghassan 2 who forwarded it to the Emperor,
with an address from himself, soliciting permission
to chastise the audacious impostor.3 But Heraclius,

1Tradition of course has another story. "Now the Emperor
was at this time at Hims, performing a pedestrian journey, in
fulfilment of the vow which he had wade that, if the Romans
overcame the Persians, he would travel on foot from Constantinople to Aelia (Jerusalem). So having read the letter, he
commanded his chief men to meet him in the royal camp at Hims.
And thus he addressed them : - "Ye chiefs of Rome! Do ye
desire safety and guidance, so, that your kingdom shall be
firmly established, and that ye may follow the commands of Jesus,
son of Mary?" "And what, O King I shall secure us this?"
-"Even that ye follow the Arabian Prophet," said Heraclius.
Whereupon they all started aside like wild asses of the desert,
each raising his cross and waving it aloft in the air. Whereupon,
Heraclius, despairing of their conversion, and unwilling to lose
his
kingdom, desisted, saying that he had only wished to test their
constancy and faith, and that he was now satisfied and rejoiced
by this display of firmness and devotion. The courtiers bowed
their heads; and so the Prophet's despatch was rejected." K. Wackidi, p. 50.

2 See vol. i p. clxxxviii.

3 Tradition tells us that the messenger of Mahomet found Harith
the gardens of Damascus, busied with preparations for the reception of the Emperor, who was shortly expected thereon his way to Jerusalem. He waited at the gate of Harith three or four
days,

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regarding the ominous voice from Arabia beneath his
notice, forbade the expedition, and desired that Harith
should be in attendance at Jerusalem, to swell
the imperial train at the approaching visitation of
the Temple. Little did the Emperor imagine that
the kingdom which, unperceived by the world, the
obscure Pretender was founding in Arabia, would
in a few short years wrest from his grasp that
Holy City and the fair provinces which,with so
much toil, and so much glory, he had just recovered
from the Persians!

III. Despatch of the King of Persia

The despatch for the king of Persia reached the
court probably some months after the accession of
Siroes. It was delivered to the Monarch, who, on
bearing the contents, tore it in pieces. When this
was reported to Mahomet, he prayed, and said:-

as audiences were granted only at certain intervals. miring this
delay, he communicated to the Porter information about Mahomet
and his doctrine. The Porter wept and said, "I read the Gospel,
and I find therein the description of this Prophet exactly as thou
tellest me:" thereupon he embraced Islam, and sent his salutation
to the Prophet. The story is in the stereotyped form of traditional fabrication.

On a set day, Harith, sitting in state, called for the messenger,
and had the Despatch read. Then he cast it aside and said, ----
"Who is he that will snatch my kingdom from me? I will march
against him, were he even in Yemen." He became very angry, and
having called out his army in battle array, said to the
messenger,

"Go, tell thy master that which thou seest." The messenger,
however, was afterwards permitted to wait for the reply of
Heraclius: on its receipt, Harith dismissed him with a present of one hundred
mithcals of gold. When the messenger reported what had passed,

page 54

"Even thus, O Lord! rend thou his kingdom from
him!"1

Conversion of Hadzan, governor of Yemen, End of A.H. VI. Beginning of A.D. 628

Connected with the court of Persia, but of date
somewhat earlier than this despatch, is a remarkable
incident, which was followed by results of considerable
importance. A few months before his overthrow,
Chosroes, receiving strange reports of the
prophetical claims of Mahomet, and of the depredations
committed on the Syrian border by his marauding
bands, sent orders to Badzan, the Persian governor
of Yemen, to despatch two trusty men to Medina,
and procure for him certain information regarding
the Pretender. Badzan obeyed, and with the messengers
sent a courteous despatch to Mahomet. By
the time they arrived at Medina, tidings had reached
the Prophet of the deposition and death of Chosroes.
When the despatch, therefore, was read before him,
he smiled at its contents, and summoned the ambassadors

the Prophet said that the kingdom had departed from Harith;
and so Harith died the following year. K.Wackidi, 50 ˝.

1 Tradition makes all this apply to Chosroes, whose deposition
is accordingly postponed till the first Jumid, or August. But
the dates are clear; Chosroes died six months before ;-see note 1
above, p.50.

We must either adopt the version in the text, with the reception of the despatched by Siroes, and not by Chosroes; or suppose
the embassy to have been despatched previous to the expedition
of Hodeibia. And it is far less likely that tradition should be
mistaken as to the chronology of the departure of the
messengers from Medina, than as to the chronology and history of the
distant court of Persia.

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to embrace Islam. He then apprised them
of the murder of Chosroes, and the accession of his
son ;- "Go;" said he, "inform your master of this,
and require him to tender his submission to the
Prophet of the Lord." The glory of Persia had
now departed. She had long ago relaxed her
grasp upon Arabia;1 and the governor of Yemen
was free to choose a protectorate more congenial to
his people. Badzan, the distance however of whose
province from Medina rendered its subordination at
first little more than nominal, was glad to recognize the rising fortunes of Islam, and signified his
adhesion to the Prophet.2

1 I refer the reader to vol. i. p. clxxxiii.

2 The story of Badzan is surrounded with miracles and anachronisms. The order given by the monarch to him is made to follow, as its consequence, upon the receipt by Chosroes of Mahomet's
despatch. But we have seen that the despatch itself did not
leave Medina, till after the death of Chosroes. The message to
Badzan must, therefore, have been anterior to, and independent
of it. The order of Chosroes to Badzan would take some time to
reach the distant province of Yemen, and the messengers of Badzan
would be perhaps a month on the road to Medina; so that a sufficient interval is allowed not only for the revolution in
Persia, but
for notice of it to reach Mahomet in time for communication to the
messengers. Intelligence or so important an event would be
quickly obtained by Mahomet, and his reply may have been
(in the disorganized state of the Persian empire) the first intimation of the news received by Badzan.

The messengers of Badzan would naturally be startled at
the unexpected intelligence communicated by Mahomet; but,
whether he really represented his knowledge of the fact as
super -

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IV. Despatch to the governor of Egypt

The embassy to Egypt was received with courtesy
by Muckouckas, the Roman governor. While refusing to admit the claims of the Prophet, he gave
substantial proof of friendly feeling in the valuable
presents which he forwarded to him, with this reply:
- "I am aware;" he wrote, that a Prophet is yet
to arise: but I am of opinion that he will appear in
Syria. Thy messenger hath been received with
honour. I send for thine acceptance two damsels,
highly estimated among the Copts, a present of
raiment, and a mule for thee to ride upon." Though
Mahomet ascribed the unbelief of Muckouckas to
sordid fear lest the government of Egypt should slip
from his hands, yet he willingly accepted the gifts,
which, indeed, were well adapted to his tastes.
Mary, the fairest of the two Coptic sisters, was
retained for his own harem; Shirin, the other, was
presented to Hassan the Poet, who, since his reconciliation with Ayesha, had entirely regained the
Prophet's favour. The mule was white,- a rarity

naturally obtained, it is impossible to decide. Probability is
against such a supposition.

Tradition, as usual, invents a marvellous story out of all this.
When the messenger: arrived, Mahomet dismissed them, we are
told, and desired them to come on the morrow. Next day he
addressed them thus:- "Tell your master that his lord, the
Chosroes, hath been slain: the Lord delivered him into the hands
of Shiruna his son, in this very night that bath just passed, the
thirteenth of the first Jumad, at the seventh hour;"- which
miraculous intimation being subsequently confirmed, was the occasion of Badzan's conversion. K. Wackidi, 50.

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in Arabia; it was greatly prized, and was constantly
ridden by Mahomet.1

V. Despatch to the king of Abussinia

The court of Abyssinia stood in a different relation to Mahomet from that of any of the courts
to which he addressed his apostolical summons.
There his followers had found, fifteen years before,
a secure and hospitable retreat from the persecutions of the Coreish; and although about forty of

1 The Egyptian governor must have shrewdly apprehended the
weakness of Mahomet, when he sent him these two slave girls ;- a
strange present, however, for a Christian governor to make. The
messenger was treated kindly: he was not kept waiting at the
gate, and was not detained more than five days.

Though I have copied this reply from the Secretary of Wackidi
(p.50), I should note that the expressions are evidently from oral
tradition only.

In the Journal Asiatique for December 1854 (p.482), M. Reinaud has given an interesting account or a curious discovery by
M. Barthelémy of a parchment found within the binding of a
Coptic manuscript, which bears some marks of being the original
despatch of Mahomet to Muckouckas. The impression of a seal,
with the required words decipherable on it, given an air of possibility to the conjecture. The process, however, of detaching
the
parchment from the overlying materials in the binding, has
rendered the forms of most of the letters, as show; in the
facsimile, very indistinct. The opening words
and a few others appropriate to the despatch are recognizable.
But
without farther consideration, it would be rash to entertain the
hypothesis, or to draw any conclusions from the few legible
words.
I may notice that the MS. cannot be drawn into exact correspondence with the ordinary forms of this letter, as given by
tradition.
But this is no argument against its genuineness; for as already
stated, I believe the forms given by tradition of all these
despatches to be apocryphal,- though they probably contain some
of the sentiments and expressions of the originals.

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these exiles had rejoined the Prophet after his
flight to Medina, fifty or sixty were still left behind,
who during all this time had enjoyed the protection
of the Abyssinian Prince.1 Amr ibn Omeya was
now the bearer of two despatches to him.2 One
was couched in language like that addressed to the
other Christian kings; and to this the Najashy is said
to have replied in terms of humble acquiescence,-
embracing the new faith, and mourning over his
inability to join in person the standard of the Prophet.3 The answer was entrusted to the care of
Jafar, son of Aba Talib, Mahomet's cousin, who was

1 See vol. ii. p.161; Hashami (p. 346) gives the names of
twenty-six persons, men, women, and children, who now returned
from Abyssinia, sixteen being men. But unless we suppose that
any of the Refugees still remained behind in Abyssinia, which
is very unlikely, or (which is more probable) that during the
intervening six years other parties returned to Medina, the
numbers were what I state in the text. There must have been
occasional communications between the exiles and Medina; for
Mahomet had evidently received intimation of Obeidallah's death,
and apparently also of his widow's willingness to marry him.

2 This is the person repeatedly mentioned above, as a noted
assassin.

3 I have, in a note to vol. ii. p.172, given grounds for doubting
the conversion of the Najashy. See also Weil's note, No.305,
p.196. It was quite possible for a Christian Prince, more especially if he belonged to an Arian or Nestorian sect, and had seen
or heard only certain portions of the Coran, - those for example
containing strong attestations of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, exhortations against idolatry, &c. to have expressed an
assent to the vague terms or Mahomet's epistle. For the efforts
of the various Christian sects to gain over the Abyssinians, see
Gibbon, chapter xlvii.

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Omm Habiba betrothed to Mahomet

still an exile at the Abyssinian court. In the second
despatch, the Prophet begged that his remaining
followers might now be sent back to Medina; and
the singular request was added that, before their
departure, the Prince would betroth to him Omm
Habiba, whose early charms still held a place in
his imagination. The husband of Omm Habiba was
Obeidallah, one of the "Four Enquirers," who,
as before related, after emigrating as a Mussulman
to Abyssinia, had embraced Christianity there, and
died in the profession of that faith.1 By this affiance
Mahomet at once gratified his, passion for fresh
nuptials (he had been now a whole year without
adding to his harem) ;2 and, perhaps, farther hoped
to make Abu Sofian, the father of Omm Habiba,
more favourable to his cause.

The Prince performed
with readiness the part allotted to him in the ceremony.3 He also provided two ships for the exiles,
on which they all embarked; and during the Autumn
they reached Medina safely.4

VI. Despatch to the chief of Yemama

The the sixth messenger of Mahomet was sent to
Haudza, the chief of a Christian tribe, the Bani

1 Sec vol. ii. pp.52, 109.

2 The last addition to the number of his consorts was Rihana,
the Jewess, at the close of the fifth year of the Hegira.

3 The dower was four hundred dirhems. Khalid ibn Said was
the guardian who gave her away. K. Wackidi 39 ˝, vol. ii. p.110.

4 They first made for Bowla on the Arabian shore, "which is
the same as Al Jar;" then they reached Karnal Tzahar, and then
Medina. K. Wackidi, 39 ˝ and 49 ˝.

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Hanifa, of Yemana. The messenger was hospitably
entertained; and the chief, having presented him
with changes of raiment and provisions for the
journey home, dismissed him with this reply for his
master, - "How excellent is that revelation to which
thou invitest inc, and how beautiful! Know that
I am the Poet of my tribe, and their Orator. The
Arabs revere my dignity. Grant upto me a share
in the rule, and I will follow thee." When Mahomet
had read the answer he said:- "Had this man
stipulated for an unripe date only, as his share in
the land, I would not have consented. Let him
perish, and his vain glory with him!" And so
Haudza died, the tradition adds, in the following
year.1